How Shirley Kurata Built a Surreal Fashion Playground for Keke Palmer in “I Love Boosters”

When writer-director Boots Riley (Sorry to Bother You) approached Oscar-nominated costume designer Shirley Kurata with crime comedy I Love Boosters, it was a no-brainer. Though shot in Atlanta and set in a surreal version of the San Francisco Bay Area, the dynamic collaboration that pops and crackles with bold colors and rich textures is inspired by their California roots.

The surrealist caper follows a group of shoplifters, known as “boosters,” led by Corvette (Keke Palmer), who target a cutthroat fashion virtuoso, Christie Smith (Demi Moore), after she steals their designs for her clothing stores. The mayhem goes interdimensional when Jianhu (Poppy Liu) teleports from a factory in China, where laborers work under exploitative conditions. The I Love Boosters ensemble cast also includes Naomi Ackie, Taylour Paige, Eiza González, LaKeith Stanfield, and Will Poulter, a stellar collection of talent who were clearly eager to play in Riley’s sui generis world.

Here, LA-based Kurata, whose previous work includes Everything Everywhere All at Once, shares with The Credits who the first artisans were that she called in California and Georgia to realize the vision, and what it took to deliver hundreds of thousands of pieces.

What were your first conversations with Boots Riley?

Boots first gave me visuals and a soundtrack. He was like, “I want you to listen to this while reading the script.” It’s the wonderful world of Boots, so it’s going to be unconventional and creative, and I love that kind of filmmaking. The less CGI, the better for me, because I love the charm, even if it looks a bit homemade. That often adds charm when done right. I knew we’d have the same approach to the costumes, where he wanted them to be quirky and made with love. For instance, for Corvette’s designs, we needed to come up with something unique and interesting that showed she’s really talented and creative.

You grew up in the San Gabriel Valley in Los Angeles in the 80s, a bombastic time and place for fashion. Boots grew up in Oakland, and I Love Boosters was shot in Atlanta. How did you infuse that here?

The 80s were so exaggerated in terms of hairstyles and the variety of genres like goths, punks, and hair metal bands, and were so exciting. I wanted to show an element of that in this film. In one of the montages, we had them go through the decades. It’s so much fun to play with all these different looks. It’s also important to study where the characters are from, and I knew that with Boots being from Oakland, it was really important to understand that world too. I did do some research on how people dress there versus LA, and it comes from a very art-centric world. There are some common threads with the world I’m attracted to in LA. People dress in vivid colors, have interesting silhouettes, and, being around designers making really cool things, I wanted to showcase that. It was important to reach out to budding designers, and I worked with SCAD in Atlanta, so some of the students there contributed pieces to the runway show. I also reached out to a lot of new designers in Europe who I thought were making some really cool things, and threw it all in a creative blender.

Did you find places in LA, Oakland, and Atlanta to thrift and source pieces to use?

LA is the mecca for rental houses, so I start there and put things on hold. There are also designer rental houses where it’s all vintage designer stuff. In Atlanta, I did a bunch of thrift store shopping and got all the bright colors they had, especially for the background, where we had racks and racks of clothes in a single palette. LA is a great resource, especially when you’re on a budget. I had the jumpsuits that Corvette designed made in LA. I worked with Philip Seastrom and Lacey Micallef, who run Big Bud Press, to help bring them to life. I was like, “Here’s the description. Here’s a rough sketch, see how you can make it because it is a thing I haven’t seen before.” We then dyed them in the multiple colors that matched the store’s palette. I also have a relationship with the LA designer Rodarte. They created the tulle dress Sade (Naomi Ackie) wears, which explodes in a room. It was a mix of high fashion and avant-garde, with thrifted items.

How many pieces did you have to create?

It was hundreds of thousands of pieces. Between the art department and me, it was something like 50 to 75 racks. I couldn’t physically count them. To fill the store, our department had entire rooms filled with racks of clothes. I had probably at least 40 to 50 racks myself.

Corvette’s competition jumpsuit is the MacGuffin that kickstarts this cat-and-mouse caper. Was that one of the first things you created?

It was, because I knew that it was going to take some time to figure out. Making sense of the work in the script coming from Boots’ mind, I made sketches first, then showed them to him, and he was like, “Yes, this is it.” The next step was finding someone to make them. Corvette’s turquoise dress was also a build, and I needed to make a couple of sets for it because she would be harnessed in some scenes.

There is a recurring theme in the movie involving the Corvette and the distinction between turquoise and aquamarine. Where did that come from?

That was Boots’ idea. When I was swatching for turquoise, I was like, “This is actually a really hard color to land.” Some colors were more aquamarine or too baby blue. We definitely had to pass around Pantone color references when I was sourcing fabrics for Corvette’s turquoise dress because she was influenced by her parents’ Oldsmobile when designing it. I wanted a car element, so I sourced turquoise vinyl that looked like it came from a car interior. I found the perfect one, but it was the last piece, and I couldn’t get any more, so we didn’t have enough extra fabric to make the multiples we should have. We made it work, though.

Demi Moore’s character Christie Smith has the only monochrome wardrobe in the film. Why was that?

I thought it would be funny, but it’s also very reflective of the fashion crowd. When you think of designers, they’re usually in black or a neutral palette, so I wanted to make a nod to that. Also, given that she designs such bright, colorful pieces, it’s the idea that she’s like, “I’m above all that, and I’m just going to wear black, white, or maybe a little bit of gray.”

Corvette’s tweed is another beautiful piece. Lots of layers, colors, and different textures. What can you tell me about that particular outfit?

That’s thanks to Anna Sui, who let me borrow some pieces, such as the tweed jacket and skirt, and the little argyle socks. I rented a little sweater vest to go with it. Because I have a styling background and have worked with musicians, I reached out to as many brands as possible to see which would be willing to lend. If they agree, it will be out for the duration of filming, so not all brands are open to that. My assistant costume designer and I reached out to all the designers we love, and from there, we pulled in some really great pieces for all the characters.

Did the designs change once you knew who was going to fill the roles?

It definitely did play an important role. I didn’t know who would play Christie Smith at the beginning, so I had ideas but couldn’t do much. Once I found it was Demi, I was like, “Okay, this is how she’s going to look.” I can’t visualize without knowing who has been cast. We knew early on that Keke would be in it, so I was able to imagine what that wardrobe would look like first.

What can you tell me about the multiple looks montage in the section where the Velvet Gang goes on a boosting spree? There are about ten different looks that are increasingly crazy, but we only see them for a short time.

Because of that, we did photograph them, and we did do a gallery because I was like, “I’m not sure how much we’re going to see of these people. Can we just do a photo shoot?” Hopefully, we’ll get a book out. We knew it was going to be a rapid montage, so Boots and I were coming up with lots of ideas. Then we picked our favorites.

I Love Boosters is in theaters now.

Featured image: Keke Palmer, Taylour Paige, Naomi Ackie and Poppy Liu in “I Love Boosters.” (Courtesy of Neon)